this morning on "early today," trail challenge. republican mitt romney looks to jump start his campaign after a rough couple of weeks. and the emmy goes to -- who were all the big winners on primetime television's biggest night. and con air. a real life catch me if you can, as italian police arrest a man posing as a pilot. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello. good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with a battleground blitz. mitt romney is hoping for a fresh start this week following his recent setbacks. romney is planning a bus tour in a crucial state he needs to win the election.

over the weekend, the obama campaign pounded on his 47% comments. nbc's brian mooar has the very latest from washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: hi, veronica. mitt romney wants to turn the conversation back to jobs, the economy and leadership after a week spent largely on defense. >> well, i'll tell you what, this has been an interesting week. >> reporter: interesting, perhaps, but mitt romney doesn't want to repeat of last week. he's hoping to get back on the attack against president obama. >> he said, you know, you can't change washington from the inside. you can only change it from the outside. we're going to give him that chance on november 6th. >> reporter: romney's heading to battleground ohio for a three-day tour with running mate paul ryan, hoping to leave behind a week dominated by discouraging polls and the releases of a secret videotape and more tax information. >> probably not the best week in the campaign, but i will say that i think we can look back at last week as a campaign in a couple months and say this was the defining week in both campaigns.

>> reporter: republicans want to move ahead, but democrats are not ready to change the conversation. >> it's fair to say that a lot of those 47% that he was slandering earlier in the week probably pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes overall than he does. >> reporter: and that's an almost certain talking point for the first debate just nine days away. >> reporter: romney wants to shift into full-time campaign mode but says he has to spend a lot of time raising money to keep up with the president. veronica? >> thank you. last night, television honored its best from the past year at the 64th annual emmy awards. it was a night filled with glitz, glamour, and drama, including a complete shutout for amc's "mad men" which started out the night with the most nominations. mark barger has details. >> and the emmy goes to "homeland." >> reporter: a modern day drama

beat out a '60s era one sunday night. "homeland" broke "madmen's" four-year winning streak as best tv drama. >> we've delighted and thrilled and i think a little startled by this. >> reporter: claire daines also won best actress. her co-star damien lewis took best actor beating out bryan cranston of "breaking bad" and "mad men" nominee jon hamm. >> i don't really believe in judging art, but i thought i'd show up just in case. >> reporter: and while one streak ended -- >> "modern family." >> reporter: it was a three-peat for "modern family." honors for lead acting went to jon cryer for "two and a half men." >> something has clearly gone terribly wrong. >> reporter: and julia louis

dreyfus for hbo comedy "veep." >> i don't see anything funny about me being vice president of the united states. >> reporter: julian moore earned best actress in a miniseries or movie for "game change." >> i feel so validated because sarah palin gave me a big thumbs down. >> reporter: "game change" won best series or min stay steer reese. "hadfields & mccoys"' kevin costner won best actor. make it ten years in a row for jon stewart and company. even if stephen colbert and jimmy fallon did all they could to keep him from accepting. in seattle, a group of good samaritans helps capture a suspected jewelry store robber. authorities say a doorman from a nearby hotel who chased and tackled the masked gunman was shot in the arm during the

incident. a group of bystanders came to his aid and piled on to the suspect until police arrived. the doorman was in stable condition at an area hospital. in massachusetts, a sea turtle was returned to the wild. the seven-foot-long 655-pound leather neck turtle was found stranded near cape cod on thursday. marine biologists treated the creature for injuries and dehydration before setting it free on sunday. in wisconsin, what do you get when mixing 300 people and 6,000 pounds of rotten tomatoes besides a big mess? milwaukee's sixth annual tomato romp, of course. participants gathered inside a fenced-in parking lot and let the fruit fly. yikes. proceeds go to local charities that help fight hunger. now for a look at your weather, here's bill karins with the weather channel forecast. i guess at least they're not

letting them go to waste. >> right. it's a good cause, i guess. tomato in the face, a little acid in the eye. >> it could be like cow pies. it could be worse. i don't know. >> we can think of a lot of things worse, but it is early in the morning. we won't go there. good morning everyone. as far as the weather this weekend, if you were watching the red carpet yesterday, people were hot. temperatures were very warm in the desert southwest. we're still in the summer-to-fall transition. many areas in the southern half of the country still haven't gotten a taste of the cool fall air. that's only been up here in the great lakes and the ohio valley in the northeast. an upper level low is spinning in southern portions of idaho and utah. that's bringing cooler temperatures to a few spots. boise only 67 yesterday. the warm air still continues. yesterday it was 94 in l.a. vegas at 96. phoenix yesterday, 103. eventually we'll cool off a little bit in the desert southwest, but nothing noticeably. as far as the rainfall with the

upper level low, not a lot of it. we had showers around salt lake city. a little light rain trying to sneak through the high country on the border of nevada and utah. if you're traveling outside of reno, a little shower activity. not a lot out there. most areas will be dry during the day today. temperatures a little cool in the northwest. still very warm in the desert southwest, the forecast for today similar to yesterday for vegas and phoenix, but wind direction a little changed for l.a. a little cooler air off the water. a high today hopefully only 82. this afternoon. spokane, washington, a beautiful day at 79. if you were watching some of the red carpet, there were some people who didn't like to be too

hot in their tuxes. >> i always forget the people out west don't have a fall. 92 degrees in l.a. all right. drivers still feeling the pinch. the illusive iphone 5 and gummy worms instead of corn feed. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus was clint eastwood's new baseball film a home run or a strikeout with movie goers. coming up, a controversial ending between the pats and ravens. the biggest payday in golf and the babe ruth of nascar. you're watching "early today."

very good morning to you. welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. riot police in greece used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse muslim protesters in athens during a rally against the controversial anti-islam film produced in the united states.

six people were detained, but there were no injuries reported. in nepal, rescue workers and helicopters continue searching for more climbers lost in an avalanche that killed at least nine people. ten climbers survived and were taken to hospitals. sad news from the national zoo in washington. a officials say the kid was found dead of unknown causes. and it's catch me if you can italian style. police arrested a 32-year-old man impersonating a airplane pilot with help from a facebook page wearing sunglasses and a uniform. authorities say the man actually rode in the cockpit of a commercial flight from germany to italy, but that he never touched the controls. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow closed at 13,579 after

losing 17 points friday. the s&p 500 was down a fraction, but the nasdaq gained four. taking a look at overseas trading. in tokyo, the nikkei fell 40 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng also dropped 40. stocks could struggle to maintain nearly five-year highs this week as worries mount about third quarter earnings. after warnings from several bell weather stocks last week, investors will be keeping a close eye on corporate reports for the likes of nike and walgreens. also on tap, fresh data on personal income and spending, new home sales and the final read on gdp. overseas this morning, foxconn, the company that makes iphones, has suspended production at a chinese factory after a fight broke out involving as many as 2,000 employees. about 40 people were reportedly injured. apple's iphone 5 went on sale friday with what's expected to be record-breaking sales. the phones were reportedly sold out in many verizon and at&t stores across the country. gas prices dipped by less

than a penny over the past two weeks to an average of $3.83 a gallon for regular. toyota is ramping up production of its hybrid vehicles saying it will release 21 new hybrid models over the next three years. trader joe's is recalling its house brand of peanut butter the creamy salted valencia variety over fears of possible salmonella contamination. talk about the sweet life. some drought stricken farmers are beefing up their starchy feed with a mixture that includes cookies, gummy worms, marshmallows, fruit loops, orange peels and ice cream sprinkles, believe it or not. nfl sunday stunners and one nascar driver who called his win. plus, a detroit hail mary grab that pushes the lions and titans into overtime. your early morning sports headlines are still ahead. >> did veronica call me a fruit loop? i missed that. your forecast will warm up. that's coming up. you're watching "early today."

have you heard of the new dialing procedure

for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number. so when in doubt, dial it out! good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports, overtime, upsets, and a shaky call shaped week three of the nfl season. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines.

>> good morning. busy sunday in the world of sports. let's get right to it. in tennessee, the titans up 14, less than a minute to play. the lions scored, got the ball back with an onside kick and then this happened. shaun hill tossed up a prayer and it was answered. a 46-yard hail mary tied the game at the buzzer, but the lions couldn't seal the deal. the titans won it 44-41. saints have fallen from grace. the chiefs' jamaal charles ran all over from new orleans. 233 yards on the ground including this 91-yarder. kansas city rallied from 18 down and won in overtime 27-24. the saints are 0-3. jets and dolphins needed ot. nick folk for the win. it was blocked. wait a minute. miami called a time-out. rex ryan loving it. new york had a second chance and didn't miss this one. jets escape south beach 23-20 in ot. 49ers left minnesota with something to ponder, christian

ponder. christian ponder threw a pair of touchdowns, ran in another. vikings pulled off the upset of the day. the raiders stunned the steelers, scored 14 unanswered in the fourth. janikowski drilled a field goal as time expired. raiders won 43-41. an emotional game for torrey smith. he lost his brother in a motorcycle accident on saturday. honored him with two touchdowns against new england. this one down to the pyre. the pats were up two. justin tucker from 20 yards out got it by the limbest of margins. bill belichick was livid. ravens walked off with a 31-30 win. you can start calling denny hamlin the babe ruth of nascar. he called his shot guaranteed via twitter and went on to take the checkered flag in new hampshire. you want to see what $11.4 million looks like? brandt snedeker's chip shot on 17 all by sealed the tour championship. that is worth $1.4 million. he also banked an extra $10 million for winning the fedexcup championship. not a bad day at the office for brandt snedeker. that's your early look at

sports on "early today." i'm fred roggin. it was a photo finish at the box office this weekend. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, life imitating life. you're watching "early today."

welcome back to "early today" on this monday.

upper level low will spark a few showers and thunderstorms. we should be dry all areas of the west coast. seattle looking nice. still warm in arizona and also the desert regions. in los angeles and san diego, a little cooler, especially closer to the coast, than it was yesterday. looks like tomorrow even cooler yet at 75. nothing really changing out here in the west. a pretty nice weather pattern through much of the week. if you're watching us on kmir 6, palm springs, california, see exotic animals in mud huts as you walk through a replica of a real african village at village watutu at the living desert. >> village watutu. >> a new one for me.

it was a battle at the box office over the weekend. two films so far tying for first place. jake gyllenhaal drama "end of watch" took in an estimated $13 million performing above expectations thanks to the mostly male over 25 audience. meanwhile, the jennifer lawrence horror pick "house at the end of the street" also took in an estimated $13 million fueled by mostly younger female fans. a close third with a disappointing $12.7 million, the clint eastwood baseball drama "trouble with the curve," half of its audience was over the age of 50. amy adams was in it, but also justin timberlake. interesting. however, all these numbers can change this morning when box office receipts are reported. you never know. and lastly, the weekend's other new film, the 3-d sci-fi action film "dread" opened well below expectations in sixth place with a dismal $6.3 million. industry analysts blame its lack of star power and an r rating. this comes to us from wstm nbc 3

in syracuse, new york, where the women who played in a league of their own took the field again. nearly 50 surviving members of the all american girl's baseball league gathered for an exhibition game held in upstate new york. the women in their 70s and 80s formed the so-called lipstick wing as a way to keep ball parks busy when male players were called to serve their country. >> that's where the movie came from, "a league of their own." i love that movie. >> no crying in baseball. >> i'm veronica de la cruz. this is "early today," your first stop today on your nbc station.

in germany, one festival promises to quench your thirst. thousands came together in munich to celebrate the start of the world's largest beer festival, oktoberfest. spectators chose to drink and watch as hundreds march in a parade to commemorate the event's 179th year. the festival runs through october 7th and is expected to see visitors in the millions. who says that commuting has to be boring? tokyo station, which has been closed for renovations, is celebrating its reopening with a massive state-of-the-art light show. 46 projectors beam different moving images right on the front of the station, including train tracks, busy commuters, even snow, make for a memorable display.

in england, one slapstick competition got a bit messy. 16 teams of four battled it out in the world custard pie championships, where participants stood eight feet apart and hurled pies at each other. teams were awarded points based on where they hit their opponents, the face being the most valuable target. rather than using real custard, pies were made of flour and water. so we have this tomato-throwing contest. >> that's just -- it's acidic. it's gross. >> have you been in a food throwing contest. >> pie eating contest. i got second place, by the way, blueberry pie. >> who knew. time for an early look at the stories we'll follow throughout the day. in new york, more than 1,000 leaders will gather for the u.n. general assembly debate. the clinton initiative kicks off bringing together leaders in

politics, business and philanthropy. today they'll hear from secretary of state hillary clinton. nbc's third annual education nation is in full swing at the new york public library. hundreds of experts in education, government and philanthropy are participating in the three-day summit aimed at improving education in the u.s. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with ""nbc nightly news."" finally here is a look at what's coming up later on the "today" show. in a "today" exclusive, matt goes one-on-one with former prime minister tony blair on topics ranging from the middle east to global warming. three-time beach volleyball champion kerri walsh jennings and her husband share big news in the studio. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you very much for watching "early today," just your first